Sense Of Touch Tseung Kwan O Spa review – say sawadee to your own private pampering pavilion!

Sense Of Touch Hong Kong Bali Decoration

There is more to life than Central. And no, by that I don’t just mean Sheung Wan!

It can sometimes be hard to convince non-Central dwellers of this fact – but for those willing to stray beyond the blue line, a little tropical escape awaits you. Its name? Sense Of Touch Tseung Kwan O Spa.

Located at the far reaches of the (shock, horror) purple MTR line in the Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East hotel, the Tseung Kwan O Sense Of Touch has to be one of the best, most unique spas I’ve found in Hong Kong. Most hotel spas here are grand, maze-like entities, with labyrinthine corridors leading to sumptuous treatment rooms; however, the Tseung Kwan O Sense Of Touch is instead a series of gorgeous, individual cabanas, spread out over a spacious tropical garden.

Sense Of Touch Tseung Kwan O Hong Kong Reception

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Dessert of the Day: a helluva hot chocolate at Original Playground

original playground hong kong hot chocolate

Hot, strong, sweet and rich… Not only the ingredients to the best kinds of romantic heroes, but also to the best cups of hot chocolate!

Most of the hot chocolates here in Hong Kong are insipid little things – sad, unsexy cups of limp, cocoa-flavoured water. But that just makes it all the more noteworthy when a smoking hot version comes along, like the Belgian Sipping Chocolate at Original Playground.

original playground hong kong

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Tap Dogs @ Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts review

tap dogs hong kong

Call it a childhood spent watching far too many MGM musicals, but the sound of tap dancing does something strange to me inside. No, not that kind of strange (get your minds out the gutter, people!), but there’s just something somehow stirring about the pitter-patter of tap shoes that I just can’t get enough of.

Well, there are pitter-patters in abundance at Tap Dogs, the award-winning show by Australian choreographer Dein Perry, which has been going strong for 20 years and has now arrived at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. Except forget “pitter-patters” and think more “bloody massive stomps”, because this is tap dancing with the testosterone factor.

tap dogs hk

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Summer Lust List 2014

Why isn’t there a Santa for summertime? There are simply too many things I want… and not nearly enough fairy godmothers to gift them to me!

ANIMAL MAGIC

Forget animal prints, I’d rather take “animal magic” to a more literal… and cute… level!

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LAKA Manicure Express review: the fastest mani in Hong Kong!

UPDATE: LAKA Manicure Express has now closed in Hong Kong

I think you all know how much I love my nail polish by now… but you may have noticed the sweet stuff hasn’t been appearing much on Through The Looking Glass lately. Fact is, I just haven’t had that much time to devote to painting my nails recently – which is where LAKA Manicure Express comes in!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Faster than a harassed commuter dashing across the platform at Admiralty MTR, LAKA express manicures clock in at an impressive 20 minutes – the quickest I’ve found in Hong Kong so far. And far from being speedy but slapdash, their therapists are veritable varnish whizz kids, leaving you with a pristine and near-perfect mani that looks just as good as the ones that take waaaaay longer.

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Kate Somerville ExfoliKate review – your new favourite exfoliator

kate somerville exfolikate

May I introduce you to your new favourite exfoliator? She’s called ExfoliKate, she’s all the way from America and she will turn you into a one-scrub-only woman!

Renowned American skincare brand Kate Somerville recently arrived in Hong Kong at Lane Crawford – and I was thrilled to be invited to their launch party (where I met the lady herself!), where I managed to get my mitts on some of their hero products. First on my to-try list was the Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment… and I soon understood why Somerville has earned her reputation as the “guru of glow”!

kate somerville exfolikate exfoliator

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Cath Kidston afternoon tea at FEAST review – it’s all coming up roses

cath kidston afternoon tea hong kong

Cath Kidston + afternoon tea = a marriage made in “pretty things” heaven!

Yep, I’m back on the afternoon tea trail, this time with the Cath Kidston afternoon tea at FEAST – the casual all-day restaurant located at the EAST Hong Kong hotel in Tai Koo.

cath kidston afternoon tea feast hong kong

I actually eat at FEAST quite regularly… but with the Cath Kidston afternoon tea in full swing, the restaurant was the busiest I’ve ever seen it. In fact, it was full on oestrogen overload! Girls seem to be drawn to Cath Kidston prints like bees to a floral-decorated honeypot; factor in a highly Instagram-able afternoon tea set (is Instagram-able a word yet?) and you end up with a restaurant packed with tables of girls all doing an awful lot of photographing/swooning over cute teapots and not that much actual eating!

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Mott 32 restaurant review – bringing sexy back to Chinese dining

mott 32 hong kong

I have real issues spending big bucks on Chinese food. Perhaps it’s because my auntie rustles up amazing Chinese cuisine right in the comfort of my own home (and I don’t even need to change out of my pyjamas) or perhaps it’s because my brain finds it hard to shift gear from my usual diet of el cheapo cha chaan teng prices… but if there’s a place for me to start splashing the cash on siu mai, then it sure as hell is going to be Mott 32.

mott 32 hong kong private room 2

The first Chinese restaurant from Hong Kong hospitality super group Maximal Concepts (the folks behind Brickhouse, Blue Butcher and Fish & Meat), Mott 32 is the very definition of Asian fine dining… And I’m talking seriously “fiiiiiiiine”!

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Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist Lip Pencil in Cherry review – let’s twist again (and again… and again!)

Phyto-Lip Twists Lip Pencils Sisley

It’s weird; as a child, I never had any inclination for colouring in with crayons… yet as an adult, I simply can’t get enough of the things – but for my make-up kit, of course!

Ever since Clinique launched their Chubby Stick lip balms, beauty brands from the wallet-friendly to the high-end have been seeking “inspiration” from these jumbo crayons of awesomeness. New on the scene are Sisley’s Phyto-Lip Twist Lip Pencils – and they might just give the Chubster a run for its money.

sisley phyto-lip twist cherry

I was given the Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist in Cherry to try – my predilection for a strong red lip clearly precedes me! I immediately fell in love with the gorgeous packaging; the funky zebra-print design is eye-catchingly stylish, whilst thanks to its metal cap and chunky shape, the Phyto-Lip Twist has an expensive-feeling weight to it too. This is the kind of lip product you definitely want people to spot peeking out of your make-up bag!

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Akrame restaurant review – modern Michelin-starred dining ahoy!

chef akrame benallal hong kong

*UPDATE: Akrame has now closed*

When did Ship become so hip?

Back when I worked near Ship Street in Wan Chai many moons ago, the greatest culinary achievement it had to offer was a Sloppy Giuseppe at Pizza Express. And as much as I love me some garlic doughballs, they probably won’t be winning a Michelin star anytime soon!

Now, thanks to renowned British chef Jason Atherton moving into the ‘hood with 22 Ships, the area has become a veritable foodie mecca – and one of the newest places for gastro-pilgrimage is Restaurant Akrame.

akrame hong kong

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